November 24/11 20:34 pm - Longo Cleared of Doping Violation

Posted by Editoress on 11/24/11

Olympic champion Jeannie Longo of France has been cleared by the French cycling federation of charges that she missed three doping controls under the whereabouts program. The French anti-doping agency (AFLD) charged Longo with missing three testing procedures over an 18 month period, however, one of the violations was invalid since she was not in the testing pool at the time. Longo's lawyer had also argued that one of the test could not be administered because the testing agent could not find the chalet she was staying at, and that she had missed another one because there was a strike by French gas stations so she could not get to the site for testing (presumably because she needed gas to drive there). This means Longo is now eligible to compete in the 2012 Olympics, should she qualify. Given that the 53 year old legend consistently beats all other French women half her age, this shouldn't be a problem...